TYLER, Texas – Playing late into the night on Saturday, the St. Mary's Baseball team earned a split at Texas-Tyler, dropping game one 8-7 before bouncing back for a 12-6 win in game two.
The game one loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Rattlers (21-15, 18-14 Lone Star Conference), but the Gold & Blue have still won 10 of their last 12 contests after winning the nightcap against the Patriots (23-13, 21-11 Lone Star).
Senior
Fernando Zubia (El Paso, Texas) tallied six of the team's 16 RBI on the day, going 4-for-7 with three walks. Junior
Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) was also 4-for-7 with four runs scored as the team combined to hit .306. Both sophomore
Mauro Bustamante (Helotes, Texas) and junior
Ryan McGowen (San Antonio) hit solo home runs for just the second multi home run game of the season.
The Rattlers and Patriots conclude their three-game series on Sunday at Irwin Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
GAME ONE RECAP
In a back-and-forth affair, the Rattlers ended on the short end of the scoreboard, 8-7.
Mares paced the team, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two walks and two runs scored, while Zubia had half of the club's RBI with three. Eight of the nine spots in the batting order recorded at least one hit, with the club combining for 11.
Senior
Johnny Panatex (Pflugerville, Texas) pitched the final two frames and took the loss to move to 1-3 on the season. He gave up two earned runs on four hits. Senior
Dylan Bells (Regina, Sasketchewan) started on the hill, surrendering two runs on three hits with a season-high seven walks. The Rattlers pitching staff did not record a strikeout in the contest.
Bustamante blasted his second home run of the season, clearing the centerfield fence to begin the scoring with one out in the second. A walk, a single and a sacrifice fly for the Patriots in the bottom half of the inning knotted the score at 1-1.
In the fifth with two outs, senior
Derek Mueller (Carrolton, Texas) singled to short, Mares singled up the middle and both scored when a long fly ball for Zubia caromed off the wall in right-center for his second triple of the year and the 3-1 lead.
Texas-Tyler took the lead for the first time with three runs in the bottom of the fifth on three hits, a sacrifice bunt, a passed ball and a wild pitch for the 4-3 tally.
McGowen tied the score with a solo home run to left center. With one out, Mares singled up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Zubia single to center. With two outs, sophomore
Brandon Broughton (Corpus Christi, Texas) singled over the third baseman's head and senior
Mitchell Caskey (Houston) singled to left. Zubia tried to score from second and with a leaping play over the catcher and a dive back to the plate after missing home, he was called safe after a video review lasting several minutes and the Rattlers took the 6-4 edge.
Tyler again responded immediately, scoring two runs on one hit with one error for a pair of unearned runs and the 6-6 tie.
Senior
Johnny Hernandez (El Paso) was hit by the first pitch of the eighth inning and he moved to second on a groundout by Juarez. With two outs, Mueller walked and the Patriots went to the bullpen again. Mares walked to load the bases and a wild pitch gave the Rattlers the 7-6 lead.
The Patriots scored two runs on three hits to retake the advantage, 8-7 in the bottom of the eighth for the win.
GAME TWO RECAP
A pitcher's duel through the first part of the game, the Rattlers doubled up the Patriots winning 12-6 with all 12 runs coming in the sixth inning or later and the two teams combined for 10 runs in the eighth.
Senior
Zach De La Garza (San Antonio) struck out a career-high 12 batters, bettering his previous total of 11 at Oklahoma Christian on March 29, 2018. He fanned five in a row, including the side in the fourth frame. With the dozen K's, De La Garza moves into fifth in St. Mary's history with 304, passing Matt McClain (2012-2015), who recorded 301. The 12 strikeouts ties for the fifth-highest total in the Lone Star Conference this season. Over his seven innings of work, DLG allowed two runs on just four hits and he walked only one.
Junior Collins Storms (Lewisville, Texas) did not retire a batter in the four he faced and Panatex fanned two and allowed three hits over the final two innings to earn his fourth save of the year.
The Rattler offense combined for 11 hits, including two each by Mueller, Zubia and junior
Brian Juarez (Corpus Christi). Zubia and Broughton also led the game with three RBI each and Mueller scored three times.
The Patriots broke onto the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on three hits.
With one out in the sixth, Caskey was plunked and he hustled to third on a single past a diving third baseman off the bat of Bustamante. Hernandez drove in the first run of the game with a shot that took a weird hop past the short stop for a single. Juarez tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
In the seventh, Mueller led off with a single to left and the ball was misplayed, allowing Mueller to motor to third base. With one out, Zubia hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Rattlers their first lead of the nightcap, 3-2.
Bustamante – who was pinch run for with freshman
CJ Ricondo (San Antonio), Hernandez and McGowen all walked to load the bases in the eighth, forcing the Patriots to go to the bullpen for the second time in the game. Mueller singled to right to score Ricondo and Mares drew a four-pitch walk for another RBI. Broughton cleared the bags with a double off the wall in center and UT-Tyler made another pitching change. Caskey reached on an error by the right fielder, scoring Broughton for the 9-2 advantage. The Rattlers six runs came on just two hits.
UT-Tyler got four runs back in the eighth on a hit batter, two walks, three hits and a fielder's choice to close within three, 9-6.
With two outs, McGowen and Mueller both walked and Mares was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A passed ball scored McGowen and Zubia drove in two more with a single to right center to stretch the lead back to six, 12-6.
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